The best voice recorder, weather, calculator, and stocks app alternatives for the iPad mini and iPad 4

When Steve Jobs introduced the very first iPad, one of his big statements was that the 75 million iPhone users in the world already knew how to use it. Well, many of those users were suprised to discover that five of the built-in apps that they had grown to love on their iPhone were missing on their iPad. Namely, Clock, Voice Memos, Weather, Calculator and Stocks. Rumor has it Apple didn't think those apps would scale to look good on the bigger iPad screen. Since then, Apple has added a clock app with iOS 6, but the other four are still missing. Fortunately, many great developers have filled that void and proven that, not only can these apps look good on the iPad. They can look great.

In fact, there are so many great apps in these categories that it can be overwhelming. That's where we come in. We took all the top voice memos, weather, calculator, and stock apps, scrutinized them, and tested them some more and named a single app in each category as the best of its kind. So without further adieu, here they are!

Best voice recording app -- Audio Memos

If you're looking for a Voice Recorder for your iPad that offer great quality and professional features, look no further than Audio Memos. It in three different versions: a free one that does only the basics, a $0.99 version that does a little bit more with optional extensions available as in-app purchases, and a Pro version that includes all the extensions available in the $0.99 version. So whether you're looking for something basic, middle of the road, or full-featured, Audio Memos has got you covered.

Best calculator app - Calcbot

Calcbot is a great scientific calculator for the iPhone and iPad. It features nice, large keys and a SwipePad that switches between the basic operations (including numbers) and scientific functions. It also keep track of all your calculations on a tape where you can copy and paste into a new calculation. Another nice feature is that it keeps a live history of what you type, so that you never get lost with where you are in your calculation.

Best stock app - Bloomberg for iPad

Whether you need to casually monitor stocks on your iPad or just find the urge to check out financial news, Bloomberg provides the best of both worlds combined with an easy to use interface. I've found that some of the applications in the App Store are quite hard to navigate and may be confusing for many users to figure out. Sometimes too many charts and graphs can be overwhelming. Bloomberg gives you what you want to know right up front.

If you're more interested in world and financial news than you are stocks, Bloomberg doubles up as a great resource for such information. It ties news and the stock market together in a fluid way that users will appreciate.

Best weather app - Weather 2x

Weather 2x is a gorgeous way to check the weather. It features a beautiful background that represents the current weather conditions. It also moves pans slightly so that there's a little bit of movement. The information is presented in a very clean, clutter-free way and intuitive gestures will reveal more information and and other sections of the app.

Regarding the including information, Weather 2x will give you 5 day forecasts that are broken down into 3-hour intervals as well as show you sunrise/sunset times, visibility, windspeed, precipitation, and more. You can also store as many locations as you wish so that you can quickly see what the weather is like in other parts of the world.

Weather 2x may not be as fully-featured as some other weather apps, but it provides the information that most people want -- and does it beautifully.

Lol there are hundreds of thousands of apps you can choose from that function. You're doing the foot in mouth thing.. And don't even notice.. Re read what you just said and also read what the article is recommending. The solution is to support them and not have them stretch like Android. Wow, petty and and at same time.... embarrassing...

Apple doesn't have to provide every solution, that's what the app market is for and the Author is pointing them to you.

I know full well what the author is saying. Perhaps you need to re-read what I wrote. I didn't say "OMG there are no stock/voice recording/weather apps available for the iPad"! I was simply pointing out that it was interesting they left them out (that would be the "omitting" part, in case you are having trouble following along). There is nothing embarrassing about what I said. It wasn't untrue or mean spirited, either.